In response to yesterday’s shooting at The Landing in Jacksonville, the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and the League of Women Voters of Florida released the following statement:
An all-too-familiar sight in Florida and our country: a mass shooting where innocent people are murdered and injured in a place where they should have been safe — in this case, the victims were playing in a football video game tournament. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families that have been torn apart forever by yet another senseless act of gun violence. The lives of two young men ended far too soon. Elijah Clayton was a brother and a son. Taylor Robinson was a husband and a father.
This latest incident comes two days after a 19-year-old was killed and a 16 and 17-year-old were wounded in an apparent act of gang violence, after a high school football game in Jacksonville.
We should not have to wonder about the chances of being gunned down whenever we leave our homes. The desire for a state and country free from gun violence is not a partisan issue. If this could have been prevented in any way, then the necessary steps to prevent it must be taken. To do otherwise is an insult to the thousands of lives lost to gun violence each year.